Nathan Court residents: Let there be lights

Thursday

Sep 19, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By Ellen W. ToddSanford News Writer

SPRINGVALE — Residents of Nathan Court in Springvale have been in the dark since January — literally.

On Jan. 10 of this year, the two street lights on Nathan Court were removed by Central Maine Power Co. The street lights had been paid for by the developer of the neighborhood for the last 15 years and in January that contract expired.

“If we had known they were taking them down, we would have paid for them, but nobody ever told us. They just took them down,” said resident Carolyn Burr.

A group of Nathan Court residents, concerned about children walking to and from school buses in the dark and about recent incidents on the street, made a request to the Sanford City Council this week that the lights be restored.

Speaking at the council’s Sept. 17 meeting, Burr reviewed the actions the group had taken to try to get their lights back beginning with a Jan. 18 application for a streetlight addition in the area, which was denied because it did not meet the minimum score of 45 points under the city’s street lighting policy.

The two street lights were placed at either end of the street, one at the lower end where the street intersects with Barbara Street and one at the top of the cul-de-sac. They were removed by CMP, but they could easily be reinstalled as the connections are still on the lamp posts, Burr said.

Burr told the council that there are senior citizens living on the street, one of whom lives alone and one of whom is a disabled veteran. In addition, she said, there are many children who must walk to and from their school buses in the dark in the winter.

Burr told the council Tuesday night that there have been incidents recently that have particularly concerned residents, some of whom have taken turns staying up late to watch the neighborhood. One involved a vehicle burning rubber and squealing its tires during the early morning hours and another involved a homemade bomb, or “bottle rocket.”

Resident Brian Farley said during the early morning hours of Sept. 6, he saw a vehicle turn onto the street, turn off its lights and drive to the end of the cul-de-sac where it parked near the woods. One resident went out to confront the occupants, who yelled at the resident, and someone called the police. Farley, who said he has a .45-caliber gun, also went out to investigate.

Apparently, the two men struck enough fear into the two occupants that they fled, leaving behind their vehicle.

“One even ran out of his shoes,” Farley said.

A few minutes later, a resident found a bulging bottle containing some kind of liquid on a neighbor’s lawn. They called police again. The Maine State Police Bomb Squad was sent to the area to investigate and detonated the homemade bomb with a firearm.

Outside the council chambers, Farley said the police were unable to link the two suspects to the bomb because of the time lapse of 10 to 15 minutes between the confrontation and the discovery of the bomb; they were able to trace them through the vehicle they left behind. Police arrested two suspects, Farley said. He was not sure whether or not they were still juveniles.

Councilors agreed with the Nathan Court residents that the circumstances of the situation, the disabled veteran and children walking to buses warranted special consideration.

“I think we have special and extraordinary circumstances here,” said Deputy Mayor Joseph Hanslip.

The council voted unanimously to reinstall the street lights at a cost of approximately $315.60 per year.